Drawer-follower.



A. H. SCHAFFERT. DRAWER FOLLOWER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31. 1915.

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ADOLF H. SCHAFFERT, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNORD TO THE GENERAL FIRE- PROOFING COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN', OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

DRAWER-IiOLLOW'ER.`

Specification of Letters Patent. Pgfmtntd Sgpt, 21 1915,

Application filed March 31, 15.315. Serial No. 18,349.

To all whom t may conc-ern:

Be it known that I, ADoLF H. SCHAFFERT, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and Stat-e of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drawer-Followers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the subject of drawer followers, and more particularly to a novel and practical construction thereof especially adapted for use in connection with filing cabinets, card index drawers, and the like. n

The general type of drawer followers now on the market employ various arrangements of springs, cams, clamps and similar mechanical devices for securely locking them in the desired position. lith devices of this kind, it is always necessary to loosen or otherwise manipulate a compressor or equivalent member before the follower can be shifted either backward or forward in the drawer. That is to say, when the follower is shifted either one way or the other it is usually necessary to unlock and then lock the same, or else keep the locking element under constant hand pressure thus involving operations which the present invention proposes to eliminate.V Furthermore, present drawer followers ofthe type which operate on the rack and ratchet-dog principle are very noisy vwhen shifting and in order to move them forward, it is necessary to tilt the top of the follower member in order to disengage the interlocking parts. This feature is in some cases objectionable, because when the drawer is filled with heavy files or the like, it is often very hard to obtain sufficient play in which to tilt the follower to effect the desired movement thereof.

Accordingly, the present invention has in view a simple and substantial drawer follower construction which departs from the spring or cam type of followers mentioned above, and contemplates a device of a rack and ratchet-dog type, but entirely eliminating the necessity of tilting the follower back and the other objections incident to present constructions of this latter nature. That is to say, the follower or compressor member contemplated by the present invention is capable of being shifted forward by merely applying a slight pull or pressure forward on the follower itself which causes a rack engaging member to pass over the rack or equivalent member in the bottom of the drawer without any manual attention. evertheless, itl will be impossible for the drawer' follower to be pushed backward in the drawer either accidentally or under pressure of the contents of the drawer, unless a novel. device is actuated by the linger of the operator. It will therefore be apparent that this construction provides for a secure and positive locking of the drawer in its desired position, and saves much time in manipulation thereof, thereby providing an expeditious means of adjustment which not only facilitates the tiling of cards, papers, files, or the like, but also increases the practical advantages of the filing device with which it is employed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drawer follower in which simplicity and strength are combined to the best possible advantage, thereby not only providing a neat and substantial device, but at the same time involving less than the ordinary time and labor in its production, and consequently enhancing the commercial value of the device.

With the above and other objects in View which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l is a rear elevation of the drawer follower forming the subject of the present invention arranged in a drawerwhich is shown in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Similar reference characters designate cor-- responding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings. y

Referring to the embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawings, it will be observed that the same is shown in connection with a pressed steel drawer l, of a type employed in modern fire-proof filing devices, and having its bottom wall 2 formed with a centralV longitudinally extending channeled guideway 3, and channeled reinforcing ribs 4L at the opposite side edges thereof. This channeled guideway 3 has formed in its bottom wall 5 a series of keeper holes G which extend in longitudinal aline-g ment throughout the guideway and perform the function of a locking rack, the purpose of which will hereinafter more fully appear. Loosely fitting and shiftably arranged in the guideway 3 is a relatively stout rigid slide member 7 having the form of a substantially inverted U-shaped plate, and including a connecting web portion S and the opposite Vparallel side pieces 9 which are preferably provided in their lower portion with a central index rod clearance 10. rlhe opposite side walls 9 of the member 7 have fitted thereto the elongated bearing sleeves 13 and la which are slidably arranged upon the fixed guide rods 11 and 12. lThese guide rods 11 and 12 are arranged in the guidenny 3, and extend throughout the length thereof, and preferably occupy a po sition on opposite sides of the series of keeper holes (5 above referred to.

AThe rigid slide vmember 7 carries therewith the follower back proper designated in its entirety by the reference 15, and having the form of a folded plate whose folded edge 1G is exposed at the top, thus providing a neat and finished edge which is free from rough projections and the like, leaving a smooth surface which is not likely to cause injury to the operator or otherwise prove annoying. This folded construction ofthe followerl back includes a swelled rear side 17 and a substantially flat front side 18 against which the drawer contents may rest, and furthermore forms a housing or casing which conceals a gravity latching bolt 19'. This bolt 19 is slidably arranged between the walls 17 and 1S of the follower back, vand includes a bolt shank 20 which operates within the rigid slide'member 7 through an opening 21 in the top or con-y necting wall 8 thereof. The lower end of the bolt shank 20 is formed with a beveled ratchet dog 2 2 for engaging in one direction the series of'keeper holes whichform a rack in the bottom of the guideway 3. For conveniently manipulating the bolt the same is provided with a finger piece 23 which pro jects through an opening 2a in the rear swelled side 17 of the follower back.

In connection with the gravity latching bolt 19 which has the beveled ratchet dog 22 at its lower end, it will beobserved that'the latter is so arranged that it idly trails forward over the rack holes 6 when the follower member is moved forward, as indicated by the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2, thus making manipulation of the bolt unnecessary when it is desired to move the follower forward, and at the same time establishing a positive lock thereforagainst backward movement without the attention of the operator. Y

Another advantage incident to the present invention resides in the arrangement of parts which permits the follower back to be shifted close back against the rear end of the l drawer when necessary, and at the same time leaving all of the space in front of the same available for receiving files, papers or the like. That is to say, the elongated sliding bearing sleeves'13 and 1a which are rigidly fitted to the slide member 7, not only serve to hold the entire follower back in a vertical position at all times, but owingl to their close fit on the guide rods'11 and 12, their location in the guideway below the upper surface of the bottom 2 of the drawer 1, and the fact that their entire length is disposed at the front side of the follower, it is possible for the follower member asV a whole to occupy no more space in the drawer than its actual width. Many followers have projecting or offset parts whichprevent the same from going back close to the rear end of the drawer, thus consuming a small portion of the filing space in each drawer which amounts to a considerable loss of filing space in an entire cabinet.

In view of the foregoing, the manner of operating the present follower is believed to be obvious, and without further description, it is thought that many other advantages and features of construction will be readily apparent, and it will of course be understood that minor changes in the details of construction may bev resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope 'of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A drawer followerl comprising` in combination with the drawer, a slide mounted within the drawer bottom, a folded plate member rigid with said slide, Vand a/ locking element housed inside of the folded plate member and engaging the drawer bottom.

2. A drawer follower comprising in combination with the drawer, a slide mounted within the drawer' bottom, a folded plate member rigid with said slide, and a locking element housed inside of the folded plate member and having a ratchet engagement with the drawer bottom.

n bination with a drawer having keeper means and guide means arranged therein, a rigid slide member shiftably mounted on said guide means, a follower back carried by said slide member, and means slidable within said slide member and follower back -for engaging said keeper means.

a. A drawer follower including in combination with a drawer having a central longitudinal channel provided with keeper means, guide means arranged'in Vsaid chano. A drawer follower including in com-l ber and follower back for engaging said keeper means.

G. A drawer follower including in combination with a drawer having keeper means and guide means arranged therein, a rigid slide member shiftably mounted on said guide means, a follower back folded upon itself to provide a swelled rear side and a llat front side and carried by said slide means, and means operable within said slide member and follower back for engaging said keeper means.

T. drawer follower including in combination with a drawer having a central chan- .uel provided with a longitudinal series of keeper holes constituting a locking rack, guide rods located in said channel, a follower member including a rigid slide member having means for engaging said guide rods, a follower back member carried by said slide member and a beveled ratchet dog slidably mounted in said slide and follower back members adapted to trail over the locking rack in one direction.

8. A drawer follower including in combination with a drawer having a central channel provided with a longitudinal series of keeper holes constituting a locking rack, guide rods located in said Channel, a follower member including a rigid slide member having slidable bearing sleeves fitted thereto and projecting toward the front of the slide member, a follower back member carried by said slide member, and a beveled ratchet dog slidably mounted in said slide and follower back members and adapted to trail over the rack in one direction.

9. A drawer follower including in combination with a drawer having a central channel provided with a longitudinal series of keeper holes constituting a locking rack, guide rods located in said channel, a follower member comprising a rigid slide member of inverted U-shaped form and having a guide slot in one wall thereof, bearing sleeves rigidly fitted to said slide member and slidable on the guide rods, a follower back member folded upon itself to provide a bolt housing and carried by said slide member', and a gravity latch bolt operating in the guide slot of the rigid slide member and having a beveled ratchet dog at its lower end.

l0. A drawer follower' including in combination with a drawer having keeper means and guide rods arranged therein, a follower member having slidable rod bearing members rigidly fitted thereto and slidable on said guide rods, and a gravity latch element for engaging said keeper means.

il. A drawer follower including in combination with a drawer having a central longitudinal channel and provided with keeper means, guide means arranged within said channel, a follower member having guide engaging means located wholly within said channel and at the front side of the follower member, and a gravity latch element for engaging said keeper means.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ADOLF H. SCHAFFERT.

lVitnesses:

A. J. lVATsoN, O. D. KAISER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

